Judge Dredd: Dredd vs. Death

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Rebellion's new first-person shooter revealed. Tons of new movies, screenshots, and more.

By IGN Staff

Inspired by the Dirty Harry and Death Race 2000 motion pictures, the John Wagner and Carlos Ezquerra-created comic book Judge Dredd is no stranger to the world of videogames. As it stands now, the hero of Mega City One has already seen plenty of digital incarnations for the Game Boy, Sega Genesis, and Super Nintendo while continuing to maintain his status as one of the most popular comic book icons in all of Europe. But after a disappointing reception to Activision's PlayStation interpretation in 1998, Judge Dredd has been mysteriously absent from the gaming scene altogether. Or at least he was until UK software developer Rebellion had something to say about it and went out and purchased comic book publisher 2000 AD so it could work on the project. If that isn't a passion for the source material we don't know what is.

If by some chance you're unfamiliar with Judge Dredd its premise is actually quite bleak. Set more than 100 years in the future, the story takes place on an earth that has been torn apart by a series of brutal wars. Because of the incredible level of nuclear fallout, however, most of the planet is completely deserted -- with only a few remaining super-sized metropolises housing the majority of the surviving population. The Judge Dredd comic and videogame take place in just such a location (known as Mega City One) and is overrun with crime, filth, and other such problems detrimental to society. To combat such a hostile environment the remaining government has created the judge system for its police officers. Given the absolute power to serve as judge, jury, and even executioner, each appointed judge patrols the streets in search of wrong-doers and criminals hoping to eliminate then all. Of these few individuals, Judge Dredd is the most famous and respected of their ilk.

Of course a great protagonist isn't without his great nemesis, who in this case, is the equally famous Judge Death. Easily Mega City One's most dastardly villain, Judge Death is the leader of a group of undead law enforcers from an alternate dimension. He's sadistic, evil, cruel, and just as resourceful and powerful as Dredd; making him the perfect rival for any well intentioned character lead. And it's this bitter rivalry that serves as the premise behind Judge Dredd: Dredd vs. Death -- as Death has unleashed his squad of undead minions upon the populace of Mega City One, which forces Dredd to clean up the mess and hunt his archenemy down once and for all.

We had the opportunity to give Dredd vs. Death a lengthy play through earlier this afternoon, and after trying out several of the game's many stages walked away with a hopeful eye and deep expectations. Spanning 11 story-based chapters, Dredd vs. Death seems on the surface to be "just another first-person shooter," combing zombies, vampires, thugs, and other somewhat generic enemies with the familiar Judge Dredd universe. But if you look deeper past the somewhat standard enemy list, you'll find the makings of what can actually turn out to be a satisfying action experience; especially in terms of how the world perceives you and how you interact with it.

While not as ambitious as Sammy's forthcoming Darkwatch: Curse of the West in terms of how intricately the A.I. reacts to your behavior, Dredd does offer a limited reputation system that's being referred to as 'The Law Meter.' Analyzing your actions at every turn, the law meter is a simple gauge that tells players how strongly they're being perceived by the world's inhabitants -- be they undead, human, or robot. If you decide to shoot a fellow judge or an innocent pedestrian, for instance, your law meter continues to move southward -- encouraging enemies to be less cooperative and making other judges less trusting. Go too far and an entire squad of former allies will be dispatched to hunt you down and bring you to justice, with the likelihood of you accomplishing your mission dropping to almost zero.